We traveled through time together, but I'm the only dragon? The others are all beautiful girls?

"Eleanor, you..."

Retracting that somewhat dangerous thought, Akalion, with a hint of barely concealed guilt, looked at Eleanor, whose hair was disheveled, by the campfire.

Are you feeling better?

"..."

Eleanor slowly raised her head and looked at Akalion.

Her eyes still held a slight vacancy from the intense battle, but overall, she looked much better than before, as if she might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"Ah."

Eleanor could only manage to squeeze out this single word from her throat, her voice weak and feeble.

At this moment, she still felt a little dizzy and lightheaded, as if the whole world was still spinning around her.

"Ha ha ha ha......"

Akalion let out a few hearty, yet somewhat deliberate laughs, attempting to gently turn the page.

He had assumed that Eleanor would be able to adapt to his full-force actions, after all, she hadn't shown any unusual behavior when he was carrying her at 100 kilometers per hour.

Therefore, he didn't hold back at all during the fight just now, doing whatever he wanted.

"They must have acquired a considerable amount of soul power, right?"

“There is a quota of approximately... close to one million.”

The souls of over a thousand undead and demons have now been transformed into pure soul energy, accumulating within Eleanor's body. She only needs to use the campfire as a medium to completely devour them, merging them into the darkness within her body, and then these souls will become an integral part of her being.

but--

"As expected, the numbers are completely different from those in the game."

Akalion recalled that in the game, even Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder who ushered in the Age of Fire, had a soul value of only 20,000.

He didn't believe that the combined value of the souls of these henchmen could surpass that of Gwyn.

Even Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder, who had long been burned away by the First Flame, was no exception.

"But for me, the enhancement is still enormous."

Eleanor reached out and gently patted her cheeks, trying to force herself to stay awake.

She placed her hand on the flickering campfire—a gesture that was actually unnecessary, but it looked cool.

The next moment, the enormous, surging soul, through the medium of the campfire, completely merged into the darkness within her body.

"!"

Eleanor's expression suddenly changed. As expected, the enhancement her soul was providing was rapidly decreasing at a visible rate.

This aligns with the game's rules—the number of souls required to level up increases with each level, which is equally reasonable in reality.

As the rank of a soul rises to a higher level, the standard requirements for soul units also increase rapidly. It's likely that the monsters in the outskirts of Undead Town can now only provide a few percent of the standard soul unit's value.

However, she could clearly feel that she was now capable of easily defeating the ten versions of herself before the enhancement.

You can do it even with just one hand.

She has officially stepped from the level of [Warrior] into the class of [Knight].

The total number of souls reached approximately 11,400.

Even now, in terms of pure combat strength, Artoria is probably no longer her match.

Because the enhancement brought about by this soul-devouring is not just effective on pure physical attributes.

Rather, it is a force from another perspective.

She slowly raised her hand, and a small, pure black sphere, seemingly capable of completely swallowing all the light around her, quietly appeared in her palm.

"...Dark droplets?"

Looking at the small black sphere, Akalion immediately thought of the undisputed strongest spell in Dark Souls 1. Even in high-difficulty playthroughs, three or four of these spells could send most bosses to their doom.

"Do not."

Eleanor was also somewhat surprised as she gazed at the new power in her palm.

This thing seemed to be an instinct she was born with, yet it was only today that it was finally discovered.

"Its effects aren't that strong. But... it seems to have a lot of 'corrosiveness'?"

She wasn't entirely sure whether the true effects and power of this new ability could only be verified in actual combat.

They couldn't possibly use Akalion as an experiment. Although he wouldn't care, Eleanor was certain that if this thing were thrown at Akalion, it would most likely have no effect.

There's only a very small chance that it will lose a scale—no, it should be said that it will leave a tiny white mark.

"It might be more appropriate to call it 'tiny droplets'."

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: Chapter 43, 'Microscopic Droplets'

If we were to forcibly quantify Eleanor's current concentration level—or rather, her magic reserves—the value would be roughly in the range of three thousand.

As a true dragon, and one whose aptitude has increased fourfold, Akalion's pure magical energy reserves are a hundred times greater than hers.

The minimum construction cost of the spell 'Microparticles' is 500 units of Eleanor's mana, with no maximum limit—she can add more mana to it without any limit.

If she were to pour all her magic into it in that instant, the 'tiny droplets' might be able to approach the 'dark droplets'.

Even if the enemy's body has long since died, the 'tiny droplets' will continue to exist until the last bit of magic is completely exhausted or Eleanor reclaims it.

Its effect is like the Abyss, completely eroding and assimilating the existence of the one it hits, until leaving behind a pool of 'wriggling darkness' that is absolutely subservient to Eleanor's will.

And in that darkness, fragmented, ember-like words echoed.

"This is...making him more and more like a villain in a story."

Akalion gazed at the pure darkness that felt so familiar to him, and couldn't help but whisper:

"However, I'm hardly a benevolent dragon, so it doesn't matter."

As Eleanor carefully examined the writhing darkness, a pure and unadulterated thought, clearest of all, like a fish swimming upstream, slowly yet with unwavering determination, entered Eleanor's sea of ​​consciousness.

Freedom...peace of sleep...finally...thank you...

That was not language, but the last lingering thought released by the zombie's consciousness before it completely dissipated.

A sense of gratitude for being freed from that meaningless, eternal cycle cursed by the Dark Ring.

"This darkness—"

She did hear it, but how could it be...? Eleanor stared blankly at the writhing darkness.

The next moment, the writhing darkness seemed to hear the call from her mother, and quickly responded to her will, transforming into invisible shadows that merged into her body.

The magic power that had not yet been completely consumed in that 'tiny droplet' also returned.

Her total magic power thus received a slight increase of +50.

At the same time, Eleanor had a premonition.

When I leave the campfire again, the undead that was swallowed by tiny droplets and turned into 'wriggling darkness' will not appear again—it has truly met its 'death' on the timeline of Lordran.

The curse of the Dark Ring can no longer revive it.

"what happened?"

Akalion, seeing Eleanor hesitate to speak, moved the enormous dragon head closer with some concern.

"No...it's nothing serious."

Eleanor snapped out of her reverie, her slightly furrowed brows relaxing, and her mood seemed to lighten a bit as a result.

"I just... heard a life that had been imprisoned for a long time expressing its final gratitude for regaining its 'freedom'."

"Is it from that zombie?"

“Yes, my ‘tiny droplets’ can make them ‘die completely’ without being cursed by the Dark Ring.” Eleanor’s face showed an unprecedented seriousness. “From now on, all undead enemies must be dealt with by me.”

"...Feeling sorry for them?"

"Ah."

Eleanor nodded silently, then, as if trying to convince herself, she added another sentence.

"Moreover, this can give me more power."

"..."

Akalion fell silent.

He knew that this was 'himself'.

When one has not heard of or witnessed tragic events, one can remain indifferent. But once one encounters such tragedies, that feeling of 'compassion,' seemingly rooted deep within the soul, will lead him to choose to help others to the best of his ability—unless, of course, money and wealth are involved.

Even if 'Lan Si' is not a true dragon, this is still the case.

"I understand. So, next—"

No matter what Eleanor wants to do, Akalion will always support her and support 'me'. Even if there's an insurmountable wall in front of her, he will be her last resort.

"—The target is that red dragon."

"Is it really... possible to defeat such a huge enemy?"

From here, Eleanor could clearly see the outline of the red dragon coiled above the bridge. It truly resembled a crimson mountain, its size at least ten times that of Akalion.

"To be on the safe side, let's hand over Artoria and Luminosity as well."

"That's not necessary!"

After saying that, Akalion picked up Eleanor in his mouth and gently placed her on his back. She was just a mere dragon!

"Body size doesn't mean everything."

His voice carried a hint of amusement.

"Also, you just said 'hand it over' instead of 'call it over,' right?"

"……Any questions?"

Eleanor pressed her face tightly against Akalion's broad, warm back, trying to wipe away the drool he left behind and to cover the tips of her slightly reddened ears.

"—No problem."

The dragon let out a deep, joyful laugh.

Only 'Lan Si' understands the dirty jokes, and they can help relieve his mood.

With a steady and powerful run-up, his massive body seemed to break free from the earth's gravity, soaring straight into the sky.

The scenery beneath my feet rushed past, especially with the increased number of buildings compared to the mining area.

From here to the bridge that stretches across the sky, connecting Undead Town and Undead Parish, the straight-line distance is over one hundred kilometers.

In fact, after observation, Akalion believed that it was no longer appropriate to use such a petty name as 'Undead Town' to describe this vast town.

But to call it the 'Immortal Province' or the 'Immortal Kingdom' would feel rather strange.

Forget it, let's just call it 'Undying Town'. Anyway, it doesn't really make any sense.

Just before reaching the bridge, the wyvern Helket made no response whatsoever to Akalion's arrival.

It seems that as long as its territory is not violated and no one sets foot on the bridge, it will not attack any outsiders.

until today.

A dark gray dragon descended from the sky, making no attempt to conceal its hostility.

Tyrannical and ferocious.

With a terrifying speed approaching one thousand kilometers per hour, he transformed into an unstoppable gray streak and charged fiercely towards the red dragon.

The red dragon Helket was so enormous that even the pale sun in the sky was completely swallowed up by the huge shadow it cast.

Each of its scales was like a giant shield cast from molten crimson blood, smooth as a mirror, without a single scratch—as if, from the moment the flames began to die out, no undead blade had been qualified to leave any proof of its existence on it.

From its abyss-like throat, each breath exhales a visible wave of scorching air, distorting the surrounding air.

It is the absolute king of this bridge.

But in Akalion's eyes, this red bipedal dragon looked nothing more than a brilliant clown.